Passion Conference Recap

I finally have some time to sit down and recall all of the events of this past weekend's conference.

All of it started when one of the college girls wanted to go to this event, so Bobby and I said we would take a group of them. Only girls signed up so instead of getting two hotel rooms, Bobby dropped out and let another girl take his spot. The main reason I wanted to go was to spend time with Bobby without the kids so I had to switch gears into leader and girl time.

We got to the Ft. Worth Convention Center and registered. The lady signing me in asked if I was a leader. I saw she was pulling out a yellow wrist band so I glanced down the sign-in table and saw the other girls get green bands. I hesitated and asked if I had to lead anything and one of the helpers behind her chuckled and shook her head no. I said, "Ok, I'll take it as long as I don't have to lead anything." The girls and I met up and they were disappointed I received a different colored band. We left to go check into the hotel then came back and got excellent seats! Chris Tomlin started off worship and Louie Giglio was the speaker. We then had to split up into whatever color group our wrist band was. My yellow group was all of the college group leaders/pastors and we met in one of the conference rooms of the Omni hotel! Louie Giglio came back to speak to our yellow group for a few minutes then turned it over to our yellow group leader who split us up into even smaller groups of 8-9. Our family groups, as they were called, introduced themselves and we have 4 or 5 questions to each answer. One of which was - Name something you are struggling with. I answered, "I'm struggling with wanting to overcome my fear of talking. I have things to say, I just don't say them. I know the Lord is putting things in me and not only for me but for the edification of the body." The yellow group leader then told us to pick a group leader. Guess who was chosen?? Me. I laughed because I felt the set up of the Lord. I wasn't upset because I knew that was what I needed. We left our groups and went back to the conference center for David Crowder. By this time it was 11:15 pm. Uh.. I'm usually asleep by this time and definitely not ready for a LOUD concert.

We left at 12:30am and plugged Walmart into the navigation system. It's late and we're very tired by this point. The navigation system took us to Sams not Walmart. Sams is not open at 1am. We tried again and found a 24 hr Walmart. The girls were acting funny but I was so tired I didn't pay much attention to them. We get back to the hotel and I use the rest room. When I get out Mercedes jumps in my face and asks me to help her find the eyelash in her eye. Suddenly she says, "Nevermind." and walks away. I follow her into the living area of the hotel and they yell, "Suprise! Happy Birthday!" (even though it's a week away!) They got me flowers, Starbucks coffee and non-diary creamer! How sweet!! They pay attention well! :) I was so surprised! The next morning we went to our small groups first. Francis Chan was our speaker before we broke up into our "families" and I was really impressed with his openness and vulnerability. The main points that hit me were -God can use you if you are willing to be lonely and misunderstood. -It is unloving to be silent That second point hit me hard!! God's commandments are summed up into 1-Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind 2-Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:36-40) I had already confessed I don't speak out when I should. Wow. We broke up into our small groups after he spoke and only had 1 min to talk and 5 to pray. After that we met back in the conference center Charlie Hall and David Crowder led worship and Francis Chan spoke again. They gave us a picnic lunch from Jason's Deli and we walked over to the water gardens. 10,000 people from the conference were a tight fit especially because we were all scavenging for the shady spots. I really needed a coffee so one of the girls and I waited in the LONGEST Starbucks line EVER, it took us 50 min. We were going to have to stand in a line anyway for a seat... There was another session then a long break. We all took a short rest at the hotel since the 4 hours of sleep was wearing off.. After our rest and relaxation time the girls took me to Chili's for my early birthday dinner. :) John Piper was the speaker of the evening session. I wasn't too sure what to expect. His first statement was, "You should only care about what God thinks. If it's not in the Bible then blow it off." Great start! His main point was, what is the bottom of your joy?, and used the illustration of a guy wanting to get an A on his exam. Why did he want to get an A on his exam? To pass his class to become a councilor. Why did he want to become a councilor? Because one time a councilor really helped him out and he wanted to do the same. Why did he want to do the same? You get the picture. What is at the bottom or foundation of who you are? Why are you doing the things you are doing? You're not taking it to heaven. Sunday morning John Piper spoke to our yellow group. This was one of the few times he spoke without a manuscript. He emphasis was on memorizing scripture and not just one verse but whole chapters. He recited (is that the right word?) 1Cor 13 by memory. It was powerful!! Nothing like the word of God!! He encouraged us all to encourage others with scripture and not our own advise. Wow! Good stuff!! One of the guys in my group said he thought that message was for me. I agreed with him. I get fearful over my words but there is no fear in God's words b/c they're not mine. If you have a problem take it up with Him. The girls and I shared our testimonies and felt like this weekend was a great bonding time. I think they want to go to the Onething Regional Conference in Dallas in May. That will be a totally different emphasis since they focus on prayer. I'm ready!